1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a child""s toy provided with electronically actuated tones, and more particularly, to a child""s toy which provides an audio tone upon actuation of a portion of the toy identifying the desired tone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art to provide portable toys with a tape or similar medium to play pre-recorded songs. In such toys, a tape is placed within a plush animal and played for the child""s enjoyment. Other toys in the art include those with surfaces which require a striking mallet to create percussed sound or mechanisms for creating certain sounds when actuated. Still other toys produce sound when actuated by blowing into a mouthpiece or programming through a MIDI-like application using a computer.
A major drawback associated with the pre-recorded playback devices is the lack of creativity employed by and interactivity required from the child operating the device.
A disadvantage of other toys on the market is their lack of versatility in that they are hard surfaced instrument/toys that are not cuddly and soft or they require a component outside the toy itself in order to program or dictate the sound to be played increasing both cost and incompatability with children""s play patterns.
The present invention provides a musical device for audibly producing tones from within a fixed interval scale to the listener on his command. The device includes a portable toy having an electrical power source and eight actuators. Signal producing means are also provided and coupled to each of the actuators. The signal producing means is for production of an audio signal upon actuation of each actuator, such audio signal being one of eight tones at fixed pitch intervals depending upon which actuator is actuated.
In the preferred embodiment, the tones produced are those found in a major melodic scale which are numbered in increasing pitch. Preferably, the toy is constructed of soft material and is provided with a head, body, legs, and a keyboard-like appendage, all of the same soft material. The actuators are provided on the keyboard-like appendage of the toy. In addition, a holder is mounted on the front of the toy upon which cards with melodies composed by numbers corresponding to the actuators are printed. The actuators are designated with numbers in sequence and corresponding to the numbered tones. When a child actuates a specifically numbered actuator, the toy produces the corresponding tone making it possible for a child to play melodies as he chooses or by reading the melodies printed by corresponding numbers.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated from the following description. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which are provided for illustration of the preferred embodiment. However, such embodiment does not represent the full scope of the invention. The subject matter which the inventor does regard as his invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of this specification.